I noticed on a website for ordering Riedel glasses, the proposition listed below:

Attention California residents. Proposition 65 WARNING:

Use of this product will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. You may also obtain a list of each brand of leaded crystal and tableware for which this warning is given.

Any thoughts on the subject?

Thanks,

It is Calif. Disclaimer of Warranties for all Hazardous Materials.

"Well, we told you that everything was bad for you." They haven't had any asbestos lawsuits, so it must be working.

Cabnon - Ronmc covered the California warning part. As to whether there really is a hazard and how much of one, there have been several debates on this, here and I think at ebob, you could search.

Short version seems to be - don't store wine or booze in lead crystal, if you are concerned, wash with vinegar (leaches some lead off the surface of the glass) and beyond that don't worry too much.

Squirrel

Don't open your mouth if you swim in Santa Monica bay,thats really hazardous.

I am really worried about all this stuff that seemingly will kill me, at least eventually. I have been late to work every day for the past several years since they started posting the same type of warning on the gasoline pumps.

Walking 25 miles roundtrip to work is a beeyatch.

Yet another anti-business, moral busybody, nanny-state approach by the Socialist legislature of California. This is one of the many reasons that made me leave California. The only danger in California is the government. They are the most inept, assinine, moronic group of jackasses I have ever seen.

cdr Don't hold anything back. Tell us how you really feel.

quote:

Originally posted by Cabnonymous:

Any thoughts on the subject?

Nope.

quote:

Originally posted by cdr11:
Yet another anti-business, moral busybody, nanny-state approach by the Socialist legislature of California. This is one of the many reasons that made me leave California. The only danger in California is the government. They are the most inept, assinine, moronic group of jackasses I have ever seen.

I'm guessing you've no idea what Prop 65 actually says.

quote:

No person in the course of doing business shall knowingly discharge or release a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity into water or onto or into land where such chemical passes or probably will pass into any source of drinking water . . .

No person in the course of doing business shall knowingly and intentionally expose any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without first giving clear and reasonable warning to such individual . . .

That's not anti-business nanny state legislature, that's just not allowing corporations to poison people for profit. Sure, the side effect is that retailers have to warn people that the product is lead crystal.

In 1982 George Deukmejian (R) ran against Tom Bradley (D) for governor of California. Bradley was heavely favored and polling up to the election week showed him winning easily.

Also on the ballot that year was a gun control initiative. The NRA and conservative groups launched a major campaign to defeat the initiative. That get out the vote effort brought a large number of conservative voters to the polls and Deukmejian defeated Bradley in an upset.

In 1986 Bradley again ran against Deukmejian. Having learned from the initiative campaign in 1982, Bradley's campaign put an 'anti-toxic' initiative on the ballot. Proposition 65. The initiative was and is actually very silly, it does nothing about toxics or the environment, it was designed only to rally liberal volunteers and get liberal voters to the polls.

The Republican party largely ignored the proposition and several Republican canidates including US Senate Canidate Ed Zschau actually came out in favor of Prop 65, in effect the Republican's aimed to rob any momentum Bradley might gain by making it a non issue. Instead they focused heavly on a recall effort of Rose Bird to get out their voters.

Deukmejian again defeated Bradley, Rose Bird was recalled, Prop 65 passed, and Zschau lost narrowly to Cranston (mainly because he looked shifty).

Since then we in California have had to put up silly signs at gas stations and bars across the state. Enjoy your wine and make a toast to Tom Bradley for bringing you that warning.

What? Do you want to live for ever? I did a blind tasting with my husband with Riedal and some Riedal "knockoffs", He and I both knew that we were already doing the correct thing by drinking in Riedal glasses. There was a huge difference between the two. We have not used any other glasses, so I can not comment on them.
However, I would not decant anything on a long-term in a decanter in anything that contains lead because the lead will leach out into the liquid.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Tong:
I'm guessing you've no idea what Prop 65 actually says.

quote:

No person in the course of doing business shall knowingly discharge or release a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity into water or onto or into land where such chemical passes or probably will pass into any source of drinking water . . .

No person in the course of doing business shall knowingly and intentionally expose any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without first giving clear and reasonable warning to such individual . . .

That's not anti-business nanny state legislature, that's just not allowing corporations to poison people for profit. Sure, the side effect is that retailers have to warn people that the product is lead crystal.

Having studied toxicity at university, one maxim that is commonly stated is that anything in sufficient quantities is a toxin.

For lead to be a problem you have to ingest a lot of it regularly, or be a young child.

For example: If you sand blast clean a house painted with lead paint with no PPI, you'll only get symptoms if you already have elevated lead levels.
Smokers are more susceptible to lead poisoning than non smokers (moving hands to mouth all the time, plus the effecs of tobacco smoke).

Even if you store stuff in lead crystal decanters it will only be a problem if you regularly drink stuff that has been stored long term in lead crystal decanters, and you would probably also need an ancilliary source of lead.

Well, I think there should have been a warning about the price!~ not to mention how delicate they are---like they will crack if you pour wine into the glass too fast!

Yes-----I bought the Sommelier series, but seldom use them---they are really a lot of trouble....!

It’s classic left coast California - would you expect anything less?